Drake is serving Tupac’s estate after he was sent a cease-and-desist letter for using AI to recreate the late rapper’s voice on his Kendrick Lamar track Taylor Made Freestyle.
After removing the song from his social media accounts on Friday, the rapper, 37, and his team are also working with Tupac’s estate to remove the song from all other online platforms.
Drake gave no explanation why he removed the song from his Instagram and X account, formerly known as Twitter.
According TMZHis team and representatives have been in direct contact with the late rap star’s estate after receiving the cease and desist demands on Wednesday and have had multiple, productive discussions.
This comes after lawyers for Tupac’s estate sent a letter to Drake for the “flagrant violation” and for insulting Lamar, who they said was “a good friend of the estate” and “has shown nothing but respect to Tupac and his legacy publicly and privately.’
Drake is serving Tupac’s estate after he was sent a cease-and-desist letter for using AI to recreate the late rapper’s voice on his Kendrick Lamar track Taylor Made Freestyle. After removing the song from his social media accounts on Friday, the rapper, 37, and his team are also working with Tupac’s estate to remove the song from all other online platforms.
His team and representatives have been in direct contact with the late rap star’s estate after receiving the cease and desist demands on Wednesday and have had multiple, productive conversations.
They also set a 24-hour deadline to remove the song and explain how the similar sound was created, including which recordings were used to recreate Tupac’s voice with AI.
The letter added that the estate was “deeply shocked and disappointed” by the unauthorized use, as it was “a blatant abuse of the legacy of one of the greatest hip-hop artists of all time.”
Last week, Drake released Taylor Made Freestyle, which used artificial intelligence to clone the voices of Tupac and Snoop Dogg on his second track against Lamar.
On Wednesday, the late rapper’s estate sent Drake a cease-and-desist letter requesting the song’s removal, according to Rolling Stone.
Sent by attorney Howard King, the letter gave Drake 24 hours to follow up or else legal action would be taken against him.
The letter stated that the estate “would never have” approved Tupac’s re-enactment with AI.
Last week, Drake released Taylor Made Freestyle, which used artificial intelligence to clone the voices of Tupac and Snoop Dogg on his second track against Lamar.
He sparked outrage from Tupac’s estate and received a cease and desist letter for doing so.
The letter stated that the estate “would never have” approved the AI’s recreation of Tupac; Tupac photographed in 1996
The song was released by Drake on Friday, but was released via video on social media and not streaming services.
Had it been released on streaming services, it could have earned royalties.
Despite this, the legal letter noted that the song still gained a lot of publicity and listening.
What caused the most anger was the fact that the song was a track against the ‘good friend of the Estate’, Kendrick Lamar.
“The equally disheartening unauthorized use of Tupac’s voice against Kendrick Lamar, a good friend of the State who has shown nothing but respect for Tupac and his legacy in public and private, compounds the insult,” the letter said. .
“It is hard to believe that (Tupac’s record label) intellectual property has not been removed to create Tupac’s fake AI on the Registry,” the letter continues.
King also insists that Drake provide an explanation of “how the sound-alike was created and the people or companies that created it, including all recordings and other data ‘mined’ or used.”
The letter also noted that the song may have violated rights of publicity laws, provisions that “allow for the protection of a person’s image,” Rolling Stone writes.
The song was released by Drake on Friday, but was released via video on social media and not streaming services; Drake in the 2022 photo
However, the outlet notes that laws generally protect against misuse of someone’s image and not so much against artificial intelligence problems.
Noting that the song violated California’s rights of publicity law, King claimed that the song gives the “false impression that the estate and Tupac promote or endorse the similar-sounding lyrics.”
Drake’s past attempts to prevent others from misusing his image in the past were also mentioned in the letter, which included the 2023 song that also used AI to recreate his voice, Heart on My Sleeve.
The letter stated that the estate “would never have” approved the AI’s recreation of Tupac; the late rapper in the photo
The song is Drake’s second song against Lamar and was posted to Instagram last week.
“Taylor Made Freestyle,” she captioned the post, adding, “While we wait for you I guess.”
Snoop reacted to the song with humor on Instagram, telling the camera: ‘They did what? When? As? Are you sure? Have a good night.
‘Why is everyone calling my phone and blowing me up? What the fuck? What happened? What is happening? I’m going back to bed. Good night.’
